Hey drummers! Welcome back to my series on learning to read drum sheet music! This is part 3 in the series, so if you’re a beginner and stumbled upon this page out of order, click the links below to start at the beginning:
In this section I will be expanding upon what we’ve learned already. Next, I will be moving onto one of the larger topics, the sixteenth note (16th note). Don’t be afraid, it really isn’t that hard once you understand what everything looks like:
The Sixteenth Note
Introducing the sixteenth note! As you probably noticed, it looks similar to a quarter note or an eighth note with an extra flag on it.
A 16th note is the value of one quarter note split into four. If a quarter note takes up one beat, then you can split that quarter note into two 8th notes, or four 16th notes. Let’s put this into a visual format:
How to Tell the Difference Between 8th Notes and 16th Notes
In western music, It isn’t very common to see a single 16th note by itself. Usually, we see them put together in groups like this:
If you look at the above picture, you can see that four 16th notes grouped together are connected by two beams. This makes sense because a 16th note on its own has two flags. If you group four eighth notes together, you only get one beam. This is because a single 8th note only has one flag instead of two.
to tell the difference between 8th notes and 16th notes, look at how they are beamed together.
16th notes are not always put together in groups of two or four, but we will discuss different groupings in the next post.
How to Count Sixteenth Notes
Since the 16th Note separates a quarter note into 4 different sections, we have to add a couple syllables. Quarter notes are counted on the beat: 1, 2, 3, 4. Eighth notes keep those beats, and add the word “and” in between (Represented with a “+” sign): 1+, 2+, 3+, 4+. With 16th notes, we keep both the quarter note and 8th note counting, but add 2 syllables in between: “e”, and “a”.
You pronounce “e” like you would the letter, and “a” like “ah” (As in ah-ha!)
Counting Smaller Groups of 16th Notes
Quite often, you won’t see all four 16th notes in a row. Music is built around creating interesting rhythms, which means that we might see different groups of 16th notes.
If you only had the first two16th notes, if would be counted: “1e_ _ , 2e_ _, 3e_ _, 4e_ _”
If you only had the last two 16th notes, you would count: “_ _+a,_ _+a,_ _+a,_ _+a”
And, if you only had the 2nd and 3rd notes, counting would go: “_e+_, _e+_, _e+_, _e+_”
Keeping with that same pattern, you can also have just three notes in a row:
If you had the first 3 notes, they would be counted as follow: “1e+_, 2e+_, 3e+_, 4e+_”
And finally, the last 3 notes would be counted: “_e+a, _e+a, _e+a, _e+a”
The 16th Rest
The quarter note has the quarter rest, the 8th note has the 8th rest, and now the 16th note has the Sixteenth Rest. A 16th rest looks something like this:
Visually, it is similar to the 8th rest, but you add an extra node signaling that it is a 16th rest.
The 16th rest can take the place of any 16th note, with the only difference being that you don’t play the rest. Here are some examples of using the 16th rest:
Usually, we will not find more than one 16th rest next to each other. This is because you can combine two 16th rests together to make an 8th rest. This makes reading easier and is less cluttered
We can clean things up if we rewrite the example above by combining some of the rests. The next example is played exactly the same as the one above, but is easier to read:
16th Note Review
Hopefully you know what the 16th note looks like, how it is read, and what the 16th rest is. Now we get to review what you’ve learned by showing some reading examples.
We can start with quarter notes, 8th notes, and 16th notes without any rests:
Next we can add quarter and 8th rests:
Lastly, we will add in a few 16th rests:
Let’s See What You’ve Got
Alright, so for the final wrap-up, let’s go through some 16th note reading without any help. If you’re having trouble, click here to see this example with the counting written above it:
There you go! I know that things can get confusing when you reach this point. It was for me too. However, once you begin to look at these rhythms enough, pattern recognition begins to form in your mind.
Eventually, you will be able to read these rhythms without even thinking about it. That is the power of the brain. It may be difficult at first, but just stick with it.
In the next post, we will discuss different beaming and grouping patters for the 16th note. This is fun and can make 16th notes even easier to read.
So how did you do? Did you find reading 16th notes difficult? Or did you breeze through the section? Let me know in the comments section below!
Happy drumming!
Hi Duran, it looks like you put a lot of work into this! I really appreciate it, and hopefully you can see a payoff when i come for my next lesson 🙂
Hey Jordan!
So great to see you’re digging into this stuff! Glad you like it
I have gone over the 4th staff 2nd measure and I am wondering if there is a mistake. The third note is an 1/8 but the count isn’t making sense. Can you clarify.
Pls Sir, these are my question.
(1) How can I identify whether the 16th note given is the first two or the last two or 2nd and 3rd?
(2)you said we cannot find more than one 16th rest next to each other, but in one of the example there are three 16th rest next to each other.
(3) combining 16th rest to make 8th rest, how is that possible?
Hey Issac!
1) If the first two are notes (As in not rests), then they will be played. If there is a rest before the note (Provided it begins on the beat), then you would play the last two.
2)Yes, you can find two 16th rests next to each other, however it’s not common since it is harder to read. More commonly you would see the two rests combined to create an 8th rest, which is much easier to read.
3) Remember that one 8th note has equal value to two 16th notes. So whether there is one 8th rest, or two 16th rests, they are the same. Combining 16th notes just means making them look easier to read. one 8th note is easier to read than two 16th notes.
I hope that helps!!
Duran. Great job simplifying drum notation. Learned a lot in a few days. I understood it all except for Part 3 of the final wrap-up, line 4, 2nd bar, 3rd note. How did you derive at 3 a for notation? Please explain….Thanks….Mike
Hey Mike! Beat 2 is a full quarter note, which would mean the next note would land on 3. If you look closely, the note that begins on beat 3 is actually an 8th note, which means that the next note would have to be on the “+ of 3”. That note is a 16th rest, which means that the next note you would play has to land on the “a of 3”. Kind of long winded, but does that make sense?